Municipalities Can Work With U of A for Special Training Needs

The size, demographics and other characteristics of towns and cities in Arkansas vary so greatly that their needs for training of their employees are equally diverse.

"Every community faces unique workforce challenges," said Keith Urbanski of the  Professional and Workforce Development division at the U of A Global Campus. "Whether an agency or organization is developing future leaders, preparing employees for emerging technologies or strengthening operational readiness, we can help build customized learning solutions to meet their organization's needs."

Urbanski coordinates workforce partnerships for Professional and Workforce Development. As part of its mission, PWD offers customized professional and workforce development solutions for Arkansas cities, counties and public agencies.

Urbanski collaborates with employers across Arkansas to identify workforce needs and develop customized training solutions. Recently, Urbanski has begun meeting with municipal officials to learn about the needs of municipalities for training.

Learning and Creating

This summer, Urbanski completed the first year of three years of the 40th annual Community Development Institute at the University of Central Arkansas. He uses the knowledge he's gaining to strengthen his ability to align workforce development strategies with broader community and economic development goals.

Participants of the institute learn to identify community assets, set goals, encourage collaboration and partnerships with stakeholders, and bring communities, organizations and businesses together to respond to a broad range of economic and quality-of-life issues.

In Arkansas, training needs vary greatly between small towns such as Little Flock with a population of 3,500 and cities the size of Bentonville at about 63,000 people, Urbanski said. A first-time mayor of a small town could use an orientation package that focuses on human resources, for example, he said.

PWD is open to a wide range of possibilities and can call upon subject matter experts both from U of A faculty ranks and the private sector. PWD's focus is on training needs not already covered by other organizations and providers in the state, Urbanski said.

"We want to see how we can step in and cover this gap in training courses," he said. "We believe in our ability to meet some of these demands. If you have a need, we either already have a subject matter expert we can pair you with or we can find someone."

Some areas under consideration include communication and interpersonal effectiveness, professional growth and workplace effectiveness, strategic thinking and artificial intelligence.

Learn More

Additional information about Professional and Workforce Development offerings is available online. They cover a wide range of topics and vary in length and cost.